Fighting doubts

I’ve got a confession to make. I forced myself not to check the blog for a whole week. You know, giving it time to settle in, take root. I felt a bit nervous typing in the address, like a hostess expecting a plethora of unknown guests in my humble abode. I’ve imagined the numbers quite well. I seem to remember there were a few zeros on the end.

Guess what? It’s officially a no-show. Oh well, I should have known. Throwing out a small blog into the digital ocean that is internet is like printing a million books and putting them into a BookShack Inc, Desert Island.

The programmer in me did suggest putting out a few (a lot) references out there, but that reminded me of an angler who’s in it for the sport, but instead of taking fishing tackle, he takes a few sticks of dynamite.

I’m keeping this blog to track my progress and I’m sure I’ll find friends, like-minded people and casual visitors without having to cast out nets.

So, this is about writing a novel. Like in any tale of heroic quest, there are monsters that rear their ugly heads trying to veer you off your course. Mine are with me as I type. Mostly, it’s lack of confidence, followed closely by doubt, with Surely-I’ll-never-be-able-to-do-it in a close third.

‘You’re not a native English speaker. You’ve been using this language for less than ten years. You have no literary education. How dare you think you can write a novel?!’

‘Uhm…’ gotta fight the monsters, ‘Well, I can give it a go. And, I can do the best I can. Surely that’s good enough. After all, I am doing this for myself and my parents, and it’s fun. You can’t beat fun!’

That’ll keep them quiet for a while.

Still, it’s an interesting question, which, I’m beginning to see, lots of new authors face. Does English have to be your first language? Do you have to have a formal literary education to tell a tale? I hope not. As long as you have something good to say and a good way of saying it, people will want to listen. I know I would. Would you?